


Festivities

by Karmi



Series: Cloti Fall Festival 2019 [2]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU, Confessions, F/M, Festivals, Fireworks, Fluff, Rewrite, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-07 08:04:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21454741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karmi/pseuds/Karmi
Summary: Zack and Aerith leave Cloud and Tifa alone to enjoy the Fall Harvest Festival.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife, Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough
Series: Cloti Fall Festival 2019 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1545817
Comments: 23
Kudos: 51





	Festivities

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, entry number two here! This is actually a rewrite of something I'd written years ago called "Out and About," which I never transferred to this account because I knew I wanted to redo it one day! So here it is!
> 
> Nov 16 Prompt: Flushed Cheeks|Quotes; “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”

Tifa straightened her cream yukata one more time while looking herself in the mirror. She tightened the red sash, loosened it, and tightened it again while biting her lip.

_Does this look right?_

She stared in the mirror for a few minutes, her hands gripping the belt. She thought about loosening it again when a knock came at the door.

“Tifa? Are you ready yet? The boys will be here soon!”

She let out a whimper. “Can you help me Aerith?”

Her roommate entered and stood behind her, staring at Tifa in the mirror. She wore a yellow yukata decorated with green flowers and a green sash. “What’s wrong?”

“I… I’m worried about the sash.”

Aerith tilted her head to one side. “It looks great. It ties in the red flowers on your yukata and it brings out your eyes!”

“That’s not what I mean.” Tifa took a deep breath and turned around. “Do I look… Is it too tight?”

The brunette tittered, her hand over her mouth. “Tifa, are you really worried about that?”

“Yeah! I don’t want to look… I don’t know…” She glanced away.

Aerith tilted her chin up. “You look beautiful.” She messed with the sash, loosening it just a little, before finishing it off with a large bow. “There. Now you can breathe. But… if you’re worried about what _he_ will think, I’m sure he won’t be able to take his eyes off you!”

Tifa’s face flushed. “I… That’s not…”

Aerith grabbed Tifa’s brush from the nearby vanity and turned her around. She brushed gently, framing her bangs around her face and pulling the rest of her hair behind her shoulders. She reached over for a red ribbon and tied off the end of Tifa’s long black hair.

Aerith placed a finger on her chin in thought. “Ah!” She reached over once more for a silver dolphin clasp and pinned it on Tifa’s left side, tucking her hair behind her ear.

The bell rang.

Aerith smiled brightly in the mirror, holding Tifa by the shoulders. “Let’s go get ‘em!”

* * *

Aerith slid her arm into Zack’s as they walked to the Fall Harvest Festival, giggling at something he said. Tifa watched them as she walked slightly behind with Cloud. The couple in front of them matched; Zack wore a dark green yukata with a yellow sash. Tifa smiled as she watched them laugh and hold on to one another. She smoothed her hands over her sash and stole a glance at her friend.

He was wearing a dark blue yukata with an indigo sash. His hair seemed a little more tame than usual, his signature blonde spikes swaying gently as he walked. While Tifa stared, his eyes flickered to her.

She blushed, looking straight ahead. Cloud coughed.

_Why am I so nervous?! We’ve been friends for too long, we’ve seen each other in festival clothes before! _

Maybe it was the new yukata?

_“If you’re worried about what **he** will think, I’m sure he won’t be able to take his eyes off you!”_

Aerith’s words rang in her head. Tifa’s blush deepened as they approached the entrance. She knew it wasn’t just the yukata – there was something she had to say, something Aerith told her she had to say _tonight_. The very thought made her a nervous wreck.

They looked around the grounds together for a few moments. There were bright orange, yellow, and brown lanterns hanging all over, accompanied by twinkling string lights. There was an explosion of colors throughout the stalls - bright blue and red hues, pinks and greens and purples, flashing in her eyes.

After a few minutes, Zack pointed out a food stall a few feet away. “Aerith, you hungry?”

She nodded. “Yes! Let’s go try the street food!”

“You two have fun! We’ll catch up later,” Zack shouted with a wink. He waved as they walked away.

Cloud scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat.

“Tifa?”

“Hm?” She met his gaze and, for a moment, thought she would get lost in his ocean blue eyes.

“What do you want to do?”

“Huh? Oh! Uhm…” She looked around and spotted a row of stalls with different trinkets. “Want to look through those?”

He nodded and held out his hand. She smiled as she folded her own into his.

“You look really pretty tonight.”

Her face grew even warmer. “Th-thank you,” she stammered. “You look really handsome.”

As they walked through the stalls inspecting the little baubles, they talked about school and how grateful they were that the semester was almost over. Tifa felt herself relax the more they chatted, and she could tell Cloud did the same. She almost felt bad for how awkward she was being.

_Just act like you normally do!_

Near the end of the row, Tifa spotted a silver necklace with a dolphin pendant. She stared at it long enough for Cloud to notice.

“Those are your favorite, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

Cloud pointed to the necklace and fished his wallet out of his sleeve.

“Wait, Cloud! You don’t have to do that!”

He smiled at her. “I know I don’t have to. I want to.”

He exchanged hands with the vendor and undid the clasp on the necklace, holding it out to her. She turned around, brushing her hair to one side. His fingers lightly caressed her skin as he placed it around her neck. She shivered.

“There.”

Tifa faced him, feeling the pendent as it dangled under her collarbone. “Thank you.”

Cloud reached out and touched her cheek, before placing her hair behind her ear. “You’re welcome,” he said quietly. His face was turning red. He grabbed her hand and led her forward. “Do you remember the first time we actually met?”

She nodded, walking closely by his side. “Yes! I was looking for my hair clip!” She touched the one in her hair. “And you helped me find it.”

He chuckled. “The necklace reminds me of that.”

She fingered the pendant again. “Me too.”

* * *

_An eight-year-old Tifa frantically dug around the base of a tree._

_“Where… where is it?” she mumbled. Tears stung her eyes, but she furiously wiped them away. She couldn’t see clearly if she was crying._

_“Are you okay?”_

_Tifa turned around to a boy with wild blonde hair staring at her. She had seen him before around town but had never spoken to him. _

_She sniffled. “I’m looking for my hair clip. My mommy gave it to me.”_

_He stepped forward. “Can… can I help you look for it?”_

_Tifa nodded. “Will you please? I have to find it!”_

_“Okay. What does it look like?”_

_“A dolphin.”_

_They searched near the tree for a while but turned up nothing. _

_“Where was the last place you had it?” the boy asked._

_“I don’t know… I thought here! Maybe… maybe over there?” She pointed to another tree with a tire swing._

_As they approached the tire swing, she wiped her face again. She could feel the panic bubbling in her chest. The boy held her hand. _

_“It’s okay. We’ll find it,” he told her with a gentle grin._

_She found some solace in his eyes. “Right!”_

_They searched for another half-hour near the tire swing. The sun began to set. _

_Tifa sat down against the tree and pulled her knees to her chest. She started to cry. The boy sat next to her._

_“I can help you look more tomorrow!”_

_She shook her head. “What if it’s gone forever?”_

_He tried to think of something to comfort her but didn’t have an answer. He pulled his knees up and laid his chin between them. As he stared out ahead of them, something glinted in the tire._

_He got up, making his way forward. Tifa lifted her head and watched as he reached into the tire swing and pulled out…_

_“My hair clip!”_

_She scrambled up and ran the short distance to him as he reached out to give it to her. She took it from him and stared at it before giving him a tight hug._

_“Thank you! Thank you so much!”_

_He blushed. “I’m glad I could help you Tifa.”_

_She pulled back, clutching her pin. “You know my name?”_

_“Yeah… I see you playing with the other kids all the time.”_

_“Oh. I’m sorry.” Tifa wiped her face. “What’s your name?”_

_“Cloud.”_

_“Would you like to play with us too Cloud?”_

_He scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know, I don’t get along with them all that well…”_

_She shook her head. “Well I’ll play with you!”_

_“Okay. That sounds nice.”_

_Tifa hugged him again. “Thank you, Cloud. This is the last thing mommy gave me, so it's very important to me.”_

_He nodded, hugging her back. “Sure Tifa.”_

_She let him go. “I have to get home. Daddy will get worried.”_

_“I can walk you home if you want.”_

_She grabbed his hand. They walked through the meadow and back into town, talking the whole way._

* * *

Tifa squeezed Cloud’s hand. “Now I have a new necklace to match.”

The blush on his face spread.

They continued through the festival, observing different stalls and even pausing for a children’s puppet show. The prince was on a journey to save a princess from an evil dragon. In the end, the prince won, slaying the dragon and finally getting a kiss from the princess after declaring his love for her. Tifa found it cute.

As the puppet show ended, Cloud noticed a large gathering a few feet away.

“Wanna check that out?” He pointed to the crowd.

“Sure!”

It turned out to be a wrestling contest. The proprietor stood in the middle of the ring, lifting the arm of a gigantic man who wore nothing but his underwear.

“Come one, come all! Test your skills against the mighty Dio! First to best him gets the prize of their choosing, but I warn you – he remains undefeated all night!”

They watched a few people challenge Dio, and all of them lost within minutes. Cloud followed the matches with intense focus. After the fourth one, he began removing his yukata.

“Cloud! Are you sure?”

He nodded. As he shed his clothes, she eyed the pair of blue shorts he was wearing. “It’ll be fine Teef. I think I’ve watched long enough.” He handed her his yukata and she took it, clutching it to her chest.

As Cloud pushed through the crowd, the proprietor noticed him.

“Looks like we have a new challenger! What’s your name son?” he asked as Cloud lifted himself onto the ring.

“Fenrir.” He winked at Tifa.

She giggled into Cloud’s yukata. _Why is he using the name of his bike?!_

The proprietor announced the match and rung the bell. Tifa watched Cloud lower his stance and focus on his opponent. She noticed every breath he took, his chest rising and falling, the muscles of his arms rippling under his skin as he clenched his fists.

Her face turned as red as her sash. She hid in his clothes, only peeking out to make sure he didn’t get hurt.

Dio ran toward Cloud, who ducked low and grabbed the bigger man from behind. Tifa’s eyes widened. She stared as the muscles in his back tightened when he lifted the bigger man and arched, throwing him in a suplex. Dio was stunned – he’d never been thrown before. He turned over onto his stomach, coughing. Cloud took the opportunity to straddle the man and pulled both of his arms back until Dio shouted.

“Yield! Yield!”

“We have a new champion!”

Tifa cheered loudly with the rest of the crowd. Cloud jumped down from the ring, panting.

She found herself thinking about how she could watch him breathe shirtless all day.

As he approached her, she thrust his yukata at him, turning away. “Here!”

He slipped back into it, rearranging his clothes properly. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” she said, her voice higher than she wanted it to be. “Uhm… are you hungry?” She pointed at some food stalls near them.

“Yeah… wait! The prize!” He ran back up to the proprietor, who was standing to the side of the ring. Tifa watched him point to one of the prizes with a huge grin on his face as the proprietor shook his hand and congratulated him again. He returned with a large, fluffy panda bear plushie.

“Why this one?” she asked.

He handed it to her. She hugged it tightly as they approached the food stalls.

* * *

Ten minutes later, they sat down with ramen and skewered meat. Tifa refused to let Cloud pay, instead handing the toy back to him so she could get her wallet.

“Are you having fun?”

Tifa nodded eagerly. “Yes!” She slurped some noodles and hummed. “This is really good! Want to try mine? It’s miso.”

“Yeah. I got soy. Here.”

They exchanged bowls and took a few bites. He watched her sigh at the flavor. Her eyes danced when she looked at him.

“I should’ve gotten this one!”

He laughed as they switched bowls again. “The miso isn’t bad.”

Someone approached them a few minutes later with a camera.

“Hi! We’re with the festival, and we’re taking photos of couples to add to our magazine. Would you like your picture taken?”

Tifa stopped chewing, eyes wide. Cloud answered before she could. He never looked up from his bowl.

“Not interested.”

The woman hesitated to leave. Tifa glanced at Cloud, then back at the woman and shook her head.

Cloud kept his head down as he slurped, trying to hide the blush on his face. A couple? Her and… him?

He picked up the bowl and began to sip.

Tifa giggled at something. He put his bowl back down and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“What?”

She held her hand over her mouth. “Nothing it’s just…” She laughed again.

He frowned. “What’s so funny?”

“You know how your hair looks like a chocobo?”

He blinked. “Yeah…?”

She wrapped her arms around herself as she shook with amusement. “There’s… there’s a chocobo on the bottom of your bowl!” Finally, she leaned over, unable to contain herself.

Cloud’s brow furrowed. He picked up his bowl carefully, lifting it so he could see the bottom. There it was, the imprint of a yellow chocobo. He could imagine what his hair looked like sticking out on the sides.

He put it back down as Tifa wiped her eyes. He chuckled with her.

“Yeah… I guess that is pretty funny.”

“I’m sorry,” she gasped. “I don’t mean to laugh _at_ you.”

“You are though.”

She snickered. “I am, you’re right.” They took a moment to regain their composure. As Cloud took a bite from his skewer, Tifa asked, “How did you beat Dio?”

He chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed. “He can’t defend too low. So, I stayed as low as I could.” He paused before adding, “Helps that I’m smaller than him.”

“Never thought I’d hear you say that.”

He shrugged. “I’ll acknowledge it today since it worked to my advantage.”

When they finished eating, Cloud took their bowls back to the ramen stand and threw away their trash. Tifa was straightening her sash when he came back.

“Ready?”

She picked up her panda bear, holding it against her with one hand. The other took his.

“Wanna play some games?” Tifa asked him.

They played at a few booths but didn’t win a single thing. Cloud tried the ring toss three times before finally giving up in annoyance. Tifa had similar luck trying to pop balloons with darts.

“Those games are all rigged,” he mumbled.

She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb when they joined again. “It’s okay. I already have this prize.”

Cloud looked at her for a moment. He knew she was talking about the panda – she had to be talking about the panda – but she was smiling at him. Something in her voice was different. She walked even closer and hugged his arm.

They passed by his brother and Aerith on their way to the lake as the couple spoke to the photographer. Zack gave them a thumbs up before posing with Aerith.

Cloud found a bench a few feet away from the lake. “Think this is a good spot?”

“Yeah!”

They sat together, fingers still intertwined. Tifa put her panda down on her other side. Her cheeks were flushed from all of the walking around they did, and it was starting to get cold. The string lights above them sparkled off of her dolphin pin. She laid her head on his shoulder again and sighed.

“Should’ve brought my jacket,” Tifa said.

He hummed, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders and rubbing her arm. “Well, we just have the show left. I can try to keep you warm.”

She nodded on his shoulder. They were both silent for a while.

“Cloud?”

“Hm?”

“I have… something I need to tell you. Something I’ve wanted to tell you.”

He glanced down at her. “What Tifa?”

She took a deep breath. “I’m going to just… come out and say it,” she said quietly, more to herself than to him. Tifa sat up and looked at him. Her face was red. The lights danced in her wine-colored eyes.

“Say what?”

She bit her lip and stared down into her lap. “Oh… Aerith told me to just come out and say it… why can’t I…” she muttered. “So easy for her…”

Cloud tilted his head. “What are you talking about?”

Tifa held his hand tighter. “Sometimes being old friends is hard.”

He decided to stay quiet and let her get it out.

“I mean… timing is important. And I really value you as my friend, so I don’t want to mess this up.”

Cloud shifted, turning toward her. He pat her hand in encouragement. She met his gaze again.

“Cloud… I…”

The sky erupted in colors. Tifa jumped, leaning into his chest. He held her tightly.

They didn’t realize just how close the fireworks show would be. The sparklers rattled and boomed, stringing together different colored patterns of flowers and lanterns. They both watched in awe as people around them applauded and cheered.

“Guess we got a _really_ good spot huh?”

She laughed. “Yeah, I guess we did.”

They watched the splendor for a few minutes, holding each other.

“Tifa?”

She peered up at him again. “Yes Cloud?”

They were really close to one another now. Cloud could feel her breath against his lips in the cold air. She was so warm. The sounds around him seemed to fade away.

At that moment, he remembered something his brother told him. Some quote from a play.

_“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”_

“What did you want to say a minute ago?” he asked in a low voice.

Tifa just stared. Her mouth parted, but she didn’t say anything.

Cloud scooted closer and placed his lips against hers softly. She didn’t respond immediately, and he almost pulled away before she wrapped her free arm around his neck and kissed him back. Cloud let go of her hand and tangled it in her hair at the nape of her neck, pulling her even closer to him. When they became breathless, they stopped, remaining in their embrace.

He leaned his forehead against hers and brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek. “That’s what you wanted to tell me?”

Tifa only nodded.

“Well, you didn’t mess it up.”

She grinned and tilted her head up to kiss him again.

* * *

Zack took a handful of pink cotton candy and fed it to Aerith as they watched the fireworks.

“Mm, I really like this one.”

He tried it for himself. “I like the blue one better.” His eyes trailed along the crowd before he found who he was looking for. “Aha!”

Aerith looked in the same direction. “What…? Oh!”

Down the lake, sitting on a bench, were Cloud and Tifa, wrapped in each other’s arms.

“It’s about time. I’ve been telling him to make a move for weeks!”

She snickered. “Really? I told Tifa she had to say something to him tonight.”

“Oh yeah?”

She leaned against his arm. “Yes. It’s a perfectly romantic night, isn’t it?”

He kissed the top of her head. “That it is.”


End file.
